Preparing for a liquid diet

Borscht (beet soup) simmering on the stove

Next week is my big jaw surgery.  I am having both upper and lower jaws advanced to open up my airway and reposition my teeth so that my bite is optimal.  There are all kinds of technical terms for the procedures, but they are lumped into the category of orthognathic surgery.

Bottom line is that my normal soft diet (which is already driving me crazy) will be limited to a liquid diet for 10 days or so.  I will only be drinking my Thanksgiving dinner, so I think I am going nearly meatless this year.  I don't think pureed meat sounds very appetizing, so will be sticking with broths.  I have been making and storing soups and hot cereals thinned out with soy milk or almond milk so that I can easily heat them up for a meal.  My darling husband will also be making me high-protein smoothies, like the ones I have featured on this blog.  They all still have to be gluten free and pretty much free of cow's milk too, as it hasn't been sitting well with me lately.  Yogurt and butter and cheese seem to be ok though.  I made my usual butternut squash and apple soup for the holiday and my plan for dessert is to have hubby liquify some pumpkin pie filling.  Hopefully when it is all over and I can eat real food again, I will be done with the soft diet thing.  I surely hope so.  It has been far too long.

Borscht (loosely based on the Russian Tea Room recipe)
1 T olive oil
1 onion peeled and chopped
2 large carrots peeled and grated
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1/4 green cabbage, shredded
1 can diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock
3 large beets, peeled and diced
1 T each sugar and red wine vinegar

Saute the onion in olive oil while you prepare the other vegetables.  Add them (except the beets) to the pot and season with salt and pepper.  Add the tomatoes and cook a bit, then add the broth and bring to a boil.  Turn down the heat and simmer for 10-20 minutes while you peel the beets.  Add the beets, sugar and vinegar to the soup and simmer another 10-20 minutes until the beets are soft. (you can partially puree at this point with an immersion blender) Serve with sour cream.

I started a new blog to journal my way through the surgery and recovery.  If you're interested, it is www.herjawsurgery.blogspot.com

Karen, herself

Pear Plum Cobbler, Gluten-free

I have actually been trying to stay away from sweets of late, but I bought some Bosc pears and they ripened so fast that I was forced to cook them somehow.  I thought of making a pear cobbler inspired by an 80's cookbook I love but then realized that I didn't have enough pears.  I did have a couple really large red plums and I thought, “pear and plum would give me that tart/sweet taste” so I forged ahead.  Insanely great.  The tartness of the plums took the edge off the excessively sweet Bosc pears.  It was heaven on earth...and set my diet back big time.

The book is Lee Bailey's Country Weekends, Recipes for Good Food and Easy Living.  Not sure it is still in print, but it is a find if it is.  It is full of great down-home type recipes and gorgeous photography. I used Jules Gluten Free All-purpose Flour which has xanthan gum in it already.  If you are using your own mix, you will want to add xanthan gum.


Pear Plum Cobbler

2 Bosc pears, cored, peeled, and chopped into large pieces

2 large red plums, pitted and chopped into large pieces
1 tablespoon lemon juice
grated rind of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp mace

Batter
1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 375°.  Grease a 1 1/2 to 2 quart ovenproof dish and set aside.

Place fruit in large bowl and pour lemon juice over.  Add grated rind.  Mix spices and sugar and add to fruit. Mix with spoon.  Put in baking dish.

Mix batter: combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl and whisk together.  Beat egg yolks and milk together and mix with flour.  Add melted butter and then pour batter over fruit.  Bake for 30 minutes or until tester inserted in center comes out clean.  This can take longer than you think.  Turn down the heat if it starts to burn.

Serves 6

Cool and serve alone or with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.  Careful, this is so good it can lead to overindulgence.

Karen, herself

Arugula Salad with Chicken and Avocado

You haven't had arugula until you've had it fresh from the garden.  My friend gave me some from her garden yesterday and I used it in my lunch today with some spinach leaves, leftover roast chicken, chunks of avocado, and organic Roma tomatoes.  I topped it off with some chick peas and it made a really satisfying meal.  I made my own salad dressing with olive oil, chardonnay vinegar and a bit of dijon mustard. Yum.

Karen, herself

Stonewall Kitchens Gluten Free Brownies

A few months ago my husband brought home a box mix of gluten free brownies as a treat for me. I've had them in the cupboard waiting for a reason to make them and today was the day. I finished a big freelance design project yesterday and felt like celebrating and my teeth were aching from a braces adjustment. Brownies seemed like the perfect treat.

I have to say, these are the best, bar none, gluten free brownies I have ever tasted. They may be the best brownies of any kind I have ever tasted. If you see these in the store, try them. They are made by Stonewall Kitchens.

Berry Protein Smoothie

A few months ago I purchased a cool smoothie app for my iPad.  It's from Whole Living and it has collections of recipes for weight loss smoothies, allergen free smoothies, detox smoothies, etc. I tried one from the Meal-in-a-glass collection this morning.

Berry Protein Smoothie
1/2 cup frozen cherries
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/8 cup GF rolled oats
1/4 cup lowfat cottage cheese
1/2 cup lowfat milk
1 tsp lemon juice
1 T unsalted sunflower seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons honey

As usual, I didn't have all the ingredients, so I improvised a bit.  It called for a cup of frozen strawberries and I substituted 1/2 cup frozen cherries and 1/2 cup fresh blueberries. It was filling and sweet and great way to start the day. Try it for breakfast or for a high-protein mid-afternoon snack. It will keep you going until your next meal.

Serves 1, 8 Weight Watcher Points Plus

Karen, herself

Gluten Free Veggie Wrap

Veggie Wrap in Chia-Corn Tortilla

2 Chia-corn tortilla, heated in the microwave

2 Tablespoons of Lilly's Red Pepper Hummus

1/2 cup grated zucchini

1/3 cup grated carrot

spinach leaves

I tried a new gluten-free tortilla the other day, a Chia Corn Tortilla that I found at Whole Foods in the refrigerator section. They are really tasty and filling. I was in a hurry for lunch today and threw together a quick wrap with them.  Because I am still sporting braces, I grated my zucchini and carrot to make them easier to chew. It turns out it makes them more suitable for a wrap too. Only takes a minute to grate them with a box grater, although take care not to nick a finger!

Heat the tortillas between two sheets of paper towels for 15 seconds on high.  Turn and heat for another 15 seconds. Place the tortillas on a plate and spread one tablespoon of hummus on each. Over that layer the spinach leaves, then spoon on half the grated veggies.  Roll them up and cut them in half. Serve with sliced cucumber and cherry tomatoes. Great, delicious high-fiber lunch, free of gluten.

Enjoy!

Karen, herself

Gluten Free in Japan

Just returned from nearly two weeks in Japan and feel compelled to say two things: 1) a big thank you to the cooks in the sports center we stayed at in Nishionomiya for taking care of my gluten-free requirements for four days and 2) why can’t Delta Airlines provide a better gluten-free breakfast on outbound flights from Japan?

So if you need to avoid gluten and have to travel to Japan, here are the things that are easy:

Japanese breakfast is pretty much gluten-free:  Rice, Miso soup, fish, salad, pickles, tea. Sushi and Sashimi are gluten-free.  Just bring your own soy sauce if you are really sensitive. Avoid the tempura, katsu, udon, really any kind of noodle unless it is cellophane or rice.  The buckwheat  noodles in Soba usually contain 20% wheat. Sadly, avoid the beer...but you can have all the sake you want!

Luckily, I do not have a reaction to regular soy sauce, although when at home, I use the wheat-free, but when dining out in Japan, I just tried not to overdo it.  I even tried some soba once and it did not cause a reaction.  Otherwise, I was good and had no problems.

I got so sick of fish that we ate in a Chinese restaurant in Itami nearly every night for dinner because I could have some beef and chicken and pork.  Granted, they all had some soy sauce on them, but I suppose if you were really sensitive, you could have them leave it off.

On the flight going to Japan my gluten free meal on Delta was ok, not cuisine by any means, but ok.  On the way back it was fish and rice with a rice cracker.  The breakfast is what set me off.  I had to smell the pastries everyone else got while I had a prison diet of a banana, fruit cup and water and...jelly!  Everyone else got yogurt, but for some reason, that was left off the GF meal.  My hubby was nice enough to give me his so I could have some protein for breakfast and avoid a sugar crash from all that fruit.

My last tip is to always take food with you.  This trip I didn't need to survive on it, but it was nice to have the GF snacks for the plane.  I took homemade banana muffins, Udi's Bagels, peanut butter, Lucy’s Sugar Cookies, Lara Bars, my own Chex mix with dried blueberries and pecans and GF honey nut chex cereal.  I also bought a bag of mixed nuts in Japan for the trip back.  And when all else fails, there is always chocolate!

So be prepared and have a good trip this Summer.

Karen, herself